Some notorious bandit leaders in the northwest region of the country particularly Katsina and Zamfara states have reportedly appealed to the government to give them amnesty.
It was gathered that this is due to the continuous bomb strikes on their locations and hideouts by men of the Nigerian Airforce (NAF) which have continued to kill their men, families, animals and destroy their belongings.
It was further gathered that the bandit kingpins who are said to have regretted their criminal actions, sent delegations to a meeting held at Gusami Village in Birnin Magaji Local Government Area in Zamfara where the request was made.
According to intelligence sources quoted by PR Nigeria, some of the kingpins and their representatives including Usman Ruga Kachallah, Alaji Shingi, Lauwali Dumbulu, Shehu Bagiwaye, Sehu Karmuwal, and Jarmi Danda were present at the meeting.
At the meeting, they offered to embrace peace and surrender their weapons to the government.
The source said: “They met towards uniting their forces and opt for peace with the government after suffering major casualties from military attacks. They promised to surrender their weapons for a peace deal.
“They also expressed their regret that while they are ready to embrace peace with the new administrations in their respective states, their morale has been dampened by the continuous attacks from the Nigerian Airforce that targeted their homes, families, animals and storages.”
The bandit leaders are however pleading not to surrender all their weapons but to keep some for self-defense for fear of being attacked by other bandit leaders in parts of Zamfara, Sokoto and border areas with Niger Republic.
They also requested that officials of recognized and registered Fulani groups, like the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) can be involved in brokering the peace process and the Amnesty Programme.
